What Happens When You shoot Someone – and You're Not the VP?

"Immigrant shot to death on ranch; Webb sheriff rules it an accident. Man charged with manslaughter", San Antonio Express-News, June 3, 2003:

An undocumented Mexican immigrant was shot and killed Sunday evening in an apparent hunting accident on a Webb County ranch owned by the family of former U.S. diplomat John G. Hurd.

"The illegals were crouching out in the brush. They said they mistook this guy for a hog," said Webb County Sheriff Juan Garza....Juan Garza Mendoza, 34, an employee of the ranch, was charged Monday with manslaughter, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison....

Mendoza had apparently hit Barrera Vasquez while shooting at a feral hog, and immediately contacted authorities after the shooting, Hurd said. Sheriff Garza said interviews with three of the victim's Mexican traveling companions and the others in the ranch hunting party led him to rule out anything but an accidental shooting.

After indicting Mendoza for manslaughter, the district attorney eventually dropped the charges in favor of a civil suit. During jury deliberations, the fact that a 911 call from the ranch was made over an hour after the shooting, helped the jury award $20 million in damages which the ranch owner's insurance paid. How convenient for Cheney, and Armstrong (the ranch owner) that everything was judged to be just fine. Really pays to be the VP and white and rich and politically connected in Texas – doesn't it?
Posted on The Human Stain